Film Industry

ARTICLES ABOUT FILM INDUSTRY BY DATE - PAGE 2

MADURAI: Superstar Rajinikanth today told the Madras High Court that debutant director K R Ravirathinam had accused him of stealing his story for the tri-lingual action thriller 'Linga' with an ulterior motive of defaming him, gaining publicity and making illegal and unlawful gains. Justice M Venugopal , who heard the case, directed the Director General of Police and Commissioner of Police to file a report as to whether any FIR had been registered on the complaint filed by Ravirathinam and what was the status of investigation regarding the complaint.

NEW DELHI: Bringing cheer to female make-up artists, the Supreme Court today put an end to a 59-year old practice in Bollywood that puts restrictions on them from pursuing the profession in the film industry, saying such "shocking" discrimination on the basis of gender is violative of constitutional values. Holding that harassment of women in the 21st century is "inconceivable and impermissible", the apex court struck down the provision putting restriction on women make-up artists and hair dressers in the film industry.

BEIJING: Chinese boxoffice revenue is expected to hit 30 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) in 2014 as the film industry expanded in a big way with joint productions. China's film boxoffice reached 22 billion yuan in the January-September period, exceeding the total of 21.8 billion yuan last year, Wang Fenglin , vice president of the Chinese Film Producer's Association, said during a film industry expo today. Home-made films accounted for 51.4 per cent of the market while imported films were 48.6 per cent.

MUMBAI: As Maharashtra witnesses a change of guard today, Bollywood wants the new regime to address the issue of heavy burden of taxation that has stunted the growth of the film industry. Mukesh Bhatt , President of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India Ltd , said that archaic laws and heavy taxation are some of the key issues and challenges faced by the industry, which are not only detrimental to the growth of the film industry but will result in its inevitable breakdown.

NEW DELHI: Abhishek Bachchan is often seen in multi-starrers and the actor says he has no problem in being a part of ensemble films. The 38-year-old actor, who was last seen in 'Dhoom 3' opposite Aamir Khan , Uday Chopra and Katrina Kaif , said he is very secure as an actor. "Yes, I like doing ensemble films. I don't categorise a film whether it's a solo or a multi-starrer. I feel when an actor is a part of an ensemble film, he makes equal contribution to it. I think you all will be bored of you see only me on-screen because I am a very boring person.

Life, unlike movies, doesn't always deliver happy endings. Jayalalithaa has been sentenced to four years in prison by a Bangalore court in the disproportionate assets case. Her life is nothing short of the superhit melodramas she starred in as an actress. Jayalalithaa was a toddler when she lost her father Jayaram. Her mother Sandhya later introduced the 15-year-old Jayalalithaa to the Tamil film industry. Jayalalithaa's film career started on a high as her first film Vennira Aadai (White Dress)

PANAJI: Betting big on the multi-billion dollar film industry in India, global chip maker AMD is engaging with professionals in the sector to help them use visual effects and graphics in their works at lower costs. The US-based firm, which has worked with Hollywood directors like Robert Rodriguez (Machete Kills and Sin City), has collaborated with Indian film maker S S Rajamouli on various projects. "There is a huge amount of content created in India and a huge number of stories to tell, there are examples like Mahabharata and Ramayana but we don't have something like a Lord of the Rings.

NEW DELHI: After a successful operation exposing alleged corruption at top level in Censor Board, CBI is finding it difficult to make much headway as the people from the film industry are not coming forward to help the agency. CBI sources said it took nearly three months of surveillance on sacked CEO of Censor Board Rakesh Kumar to expose his alleged wrongdoings in giving clearances to films during his tenure. The Central Board of Film Certification or the Censor Board is the cinema regulatory body in the country which controls content of films and certifies them according to the age group they are suitable for. Last month, CBI arrested the then Chief Executive Officer of the Censor Board Rakesh Kumar for allegedly taking bribe of Rs 70,000 from the producer of a Chhattisgarh film for clearing it. The sources said although they have got evidence in this case, they are not able to expose the "deep-rooted" network of Kumar who allegedly exploited other producers as well for clearing their movies.

BEIJING: Bollywood , which has captured the imagination of people of different cultures around the world, has its task cut out in film diplomacy with India's largest neighbour, where centuries-old cultural familiarities have failed to build confidence. A solution to the boundary dispute may have eluded China and India but both nations are trying hard to build trust by popularising each other's movies. A big step towards this will be taken when the two sides sign an agreement for joint film co-production during President Xi Jinping's visit to India from September 17-19 that is being billed as trust building exercise under the new government in Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Legendary actress Zohra Sehgal, who essayed character roles with aplomb in a career spanning both theatre and cinema, died here today at the age of 102. A Padma Vibhushan awardee, Sehgal breathed her last at Max hospital here around 4:30 PM. "She died of a cardiac arrest this afternoon. She was unwell for last three-four days," daughter Kiran told PTI. Sehgal would be cremated tomorrow at 11 AM at the Lodhi Road crematorium. The news was broken in the night by historian Irfan Habib who tweeted, "Just confirmed that Zohra Aapa is no more...